Unit 4: AOS 1
Community
History of Community
Since the late nineteenth century, ‘the
use of the term community has
remained to some extent associated
with the hope and the wish of reviving
once more the closer, warmer, more
harmonious type of bonds between
people vaguely attributed to past ages’
(Elias 1974, quoted by Hoggett 1997:
5).
Origin of Community
•
•
•
The origin of the word community
comes from the Latin munus, which
means the gift, and cum, which means
together, among each other.
Community literally means to give
among each other.
Community could be defined as a group
of people who share gifts which they
provide to all.

Community can be defined using different
patterns.

A community can be large or small; local,
national, international; real or virtual;
cooperative or competitive; formal or
informal.
Community is a
Sociological Construct
•
•
•
Not only is the concept of a community
a "construct" (model), it is a
"sociological construct."
It is a set of interactions, human
behaviours that have meaning and
expectations between its members.
Not just action, but actions based on
shared expectations, values, beliefs and
meanings between individuals.
Boundaries
A small village has simple boundaries.
 Interaction is between residents.
 Interaction outside the communities.

– Other village shops
– Marriage and dating from other villages
– Sports
Gemeinschaft and
Gesellschaft
•
•
•
•
•
A community bound together in a tightly knit pattern
which is socially homogeneous and based on a clearcut piece of territory.
Gemeinschaft is a world dominated by face-to-face
contacts, where each person is aware of his or her
status, each is attached to a particular place, and the
community is well regulated.
It is said to be a feature of villages and small towns,
and contrasts with gesellschaft society, said to be a
feature of an urban, industrialized populace.
Both concepts are idealized; in real life there are
ingredients of both, in varying proportions, in all
societies.
For example, within many cities there are
neighbourhoods which operate as urban villages.
Jewish community of
Caulfield
Case study
 http://www.jewishaustralia.com/?Page
=communityhistory
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Today's Jewish community is concentrated in the St. Kilda district,
home of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, the oldest and largest
synagogue in the city. The original kehilla that was formed in 1841
moved into this large, stately building in 1930, and the dome-topped,
Victorian structure has been in use ever since. Other synagogues in
Melbourne include Temple Beth Israel, a Liberal synagogue that seats
more than 2,000 people; the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation, which is
more in the old-world style; and the Kew synagogue, the newest and
most modern looking temple.
The Jewish museum of Australia displays Judaica, ritual objects,
Holocaust material, and paintings and sculptures by Jewish authors.
The nearby Kadimah Cultural Center shows Jewish and Yiddish drama,
and has a large library of Judaica. There are also kosher restaurants
and grocery stores throughout the St. Kilda area.

The history of the Jews in Australia dates back to 1788,
when a number of Jews were among the convicts brought to
the country aboard the First Fleet to establish the first European
settlement on the continent, on the site of present-day Sydney.
Today, an estimated 120,000 Jews live in Australia.[1] The
majority are Ashkenazi Jews many of
them refugees and Holocaust survivors who arrived during and
after World War II. There is also a significant Sephardic
Jewish population.
* The meaning and history of
the concept of community
including the theory of
Ferdinand Tonnies
What is a community?
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
-
Can be difficult to define
Has traditionally been used to describe groups of people who:
Live in the same geographical area
Are connected with an institution e.g. a church or a school
Belong to the same cultural or language group e.g. Vietnamese
Australians
Have similar occupations e.g. nurses
Share similar experiences e.g. refugees and asylum seekers
Have ideas or values in common e.g. environmental social
movements
Have a similar interest e.g. gym members
Share a lifestyle e.g. people are same sex attracted
Share a government e.g. the city of Monash

When the term community is used in
connection with any of these practices
and activities it is generally intended to
suggest that the people in the group
have something in common
4 key characteristics of a
community include
Live in the same area
 Are interdependent in terms of work
 Share social interactions
 Share a sense of belonging to that
group

Types of communities


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Geographic communities – local
neighbourhood, suburb, shire, town or city
(sometimes called communities of location) –
large group living in close proximity
Cultural communities – local club, sub-culture,
ethnic group, religious, or multicultural group
(e.g. Indigenous and Greek-Australian groups)
Interest based communities – people who
share a common identity other than location
and who often interact regularly (eg a sporting
club or a land care environmental group)
Types of communities

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Intentional communities – formed with the
purpose of providing social and/or practical
support for a group (e.g. a retirement village
or nursing home, young mothers group)
Internet communities – groups of people who
may have never met but share some interest
or connection via the internet (e.g. second
life, blogs, facebook and political/non
government organisations)
Ref pg 96

How might the definition of community
have changed over time?
Industrial Revolution
1760 – 1850
 Transformed society economically
moving from an agrarian farming
economy to a manufacturing economy
 Technologically from manual to
mechanical labour
 Socially from rural to urban life,
changing control over labour processes
and gender relations

FERDINAND TONNIES
German sociologist
 Studied how life in the new cities
differed from life in rural villages
 Introduced 2 contrasts that reflected
the contrast between very different
social experiences

GEMEINSHAFT (community)
 Used to describe a social group in which
people are closely tied by kinship
(family) and tradition
 GESELLSCHAFT ‘society’
 The informal and impersonal
relationships that occur within cities

GEMEINSCHAFT
In traditional villages the intimate ties
of Gemeinschaft connected people
 Connections based on blood (kinship)
 Mind (sense of being a unique group)
and land
 Seen as being culturally homogenous as
shaped by the moral laws of the church
and family


Admiration for the way that
Gemeinschaft groups maintain social
cohesion and a concern about the loss
of these forms of community
Examples of
Gemeinschaft
Rural farming communities
 Extended families
 Religious communities

Gesellschaft
Tonnies concerned that society over
time would comprise Gesellschaft
groups
 Worried that people would be
‘essentially separated in spite of uniting
factors’
 Characterises a group of people who
come together by choice usually for
very specific practical reasons

Instead of being guided by traditional
norms – people follow their own selfish
interests
 They adopt a ‘contracual’ attitude
becoming more deliberate, rational and
calculating in their social interactions
(eg connecting for work opportunities
rather than emotional well – being)

Tonnies noted that as social and
geographic mobility increased the close
ties of Gemeinschaft were replaced by
social relationships
 Which were impersonal, superficial and
fleeting

Examples
Corporate workplaces
 Gyms
 universities

GEMEINSCHAFT (COMMUNITY)
GESELLSCHAFT (SOCIETY)
• Bonds among people are intimate
and personal
• Based on strong social ties,
tradition and personal
relationships
• Descriptive of rural life
• People know each other, share
interests oriented toward
collective community
• Shared identity
• Family ties are strong which
provides unity
• Bonds are practical and
impersonal
• Association of people with social
ties, considerable social diversity
and impersonal relationships
• Descriptive of urban life
• People largely motivated by self
interest which can result in
disunity
• Few common values or shared
identities
• Tradition and custom are no
longer binding forces. Individuals
choose to participate

Below slides are a cartoon play on the
difference between Geselschaft and
Gemeinschaft
Although technically we still have
Gemeinschaft communities
 Gemeinschaft could be regarded as
traditional (earlier) communities and
Gesellschaft to modern (later)
communities


M comes before S in the alphabet
Emile Durkheim
Agreed with Tonnies theory about
community and society
 Durkheim believed that cities do not
lack social bonds
 Outlined 2 different forms of community
– they either reflected the ‘mechanical
solidarity’ of traditional society or
‘organic solidarity’ present within
modern societies.

Mechanical solidarity
Durkheim believed that pre-industrial
societies were united by mechanical
solidarity or shared moral beliefs
 Members of traditional communities
viewed each-other as being similar in
terms of work, values and social
connections

Similar to Tonnies Gemeinschaft
community
 Durkheim suggested that the unity
generated within traditional community
comes from having the shared culture
and maintaining regular face to face
contact

Organic solidarity
More optimistic than Tonnies about the
shift in community types as a result of
urbanisation
 Durkheim outlined a new type of social
connection called ‘organic solidarity’
 Involved social bonds based on
specialisation (division of labour and
interdependence)

Concept similar to Gesellschaft groups
but has key differences
 Both sociologists felt that the expansion
of industrial cities had the potential to
undermine tradition
 For Durkheim urban society offered
more personal choice, tolerance and
privacy than was found in traditional
communities
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
Durkheim's theory of social change warned
about the potential for increasing organic
solidarity and its associated individualism to
cause a reduction in the involvement of
communal activities instead of combining
their efforts, individuals might allow selfish
interests and competitiveness to divide them
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This could lead to social disorder
And ‘anomie’ a society without norms
People could become increasingly isolated
and dissatisfied
Durkheim saw anomie as the cause of the
rising rate of suicide, crime and social
disorder in urban society at the time
Listen to ..
Florence and the machines never let me
go – how might Durkheim explain this
song??
Use key terms to explain…

And “I wish I was a punk rocker…” song
What would Durkheim
say?
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“And it's peaceful in the deep,
Either way, you cannot breathe,
No need to pray, no need to speak
Now I am under.”

Though the pressure's hard to take,
It's the only way I can escape,
It seems a heavy choice to make,
Now I am under.
And it's breaking over me,
A thousand miles down to the sea bed,
Found the place to rest my head.
Create a venn diagram

To explain the similarities and
differences between Tonnies and
Durkheim
Community over time
ref pg 100
Using the pictures - add your own
drawings and write the features of
traditional communities and the
features of modern communities
 ..\Documents\Sociology\sociology
3&4\Unit 3\AOS 3Community\COMMUNITIES OVER
TIME.docx

Common features of
traditional and modern
communities include
Sense of belonging
 Identity
 Security
 Social interaction and participation

Factors contributing to shift from
traditional to modern community
Feminism
Industrialisation
Work
Travel and
advances in
technology and
communications
Urbanisation
Multiculturalism
Educational
opportunities
Your task

Complete Activity 4.02 pg 102
Castell’s theory of network
society and its connection to
modern forms of community
Contemporary theory
 ‘network society’
 Explores how use of ICT in
industrialised cities has improved social
networks and connections between
people

Castells’ theory
States that online connections
supplement and enrich ‘offline’
connections
 Believed those who are active within
their ‘real world’ communities use the
internet to maintain and expand their
range of social activities and friendships
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Some social researchers are concerned
about the breakdown of community and
family life as isolated and alienated
‘netizens’ (cyber citizens) become
addicted to online interaction
BUT Castell argues that pessimistic
views are based on insufficient
empirical evidence and nostalgia for the
intimate communities of a past that
never existed
 His research found that the Internet has
the potential to provide a much broader
range of social contacts and
opportunities for discussion compared
to face to face connections

Further research into whether
relationships that are exclusively formed
and experienced online were considered
meaningful and lasting 
 Found that many online communities
were fleeting groups containing
“variable geometry and changing
composition”
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Online interactions were seen as
resulting in weak social ties rather than
creating long lasting relationships
Another concern relates to negative
social behaviours
 Eg networks of paedophiles, racist
groups and internet fraudsters can be
formed  Castell reported that the vast
majority of online community members
do not engage in these offensive
behaviours

2 main forms of ICT
communities
Virtual
communities
Online
communities
(Rheingold’s
theory)
• Social network created through use
of information technology
• Second life (people create avatars
or alternative reflections of
themselves)
• Collection of people who
communicate online
• Seek social support, company and
information
• Make connections based on shared
interest and values
SUMMARY OF
CASTELL’s theory
Manual
Castells – ‘network society’
– Explores how the use of ICT in
industrialised cities has improved social
networks and connections between people
– He argues that the Internet has helped to
reinforce and intensify existing social
patterns rather than threaten community
Rheingold
Empowering potential of internet
 New community online allows people to
make connections based on shared
interests and values
 Online communities are a natural
response to the human need for social
contact which has been eroded due to
the loss of traditional communities

Rheingold
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
Argues online communities have been
created as “an alternative reality in a
world gone wrong”
While Castell supports Rheingold’s empowerment
model, he notes that the impact of the internet on
social interaction has been less dramatic than
originally predicted
Castell – the same problems occurring
in real life (exclusion, conflict and
racism) are also present in online
communities
 Access to ICT remains restricted to
those with enough economic,
educational and social resources to
participate in these forms of community

FACEBOOK
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Desire for popularity rather than
genuine friendships?
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LIST THE ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL AND
ONLINE COMMUNITIES pg. 104
CLASS DISCUSSION
What internet communities do you
know of?
 What is considered acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour within internet
communities
 How have these social rules been
established?
 What are the consequences of the rules
are broken?

Complete Activity 4.03
 Research newspaper articles and
representations on online and virtual
communities
 In your opinion are online communities
genuine forms of community? Justify
your answer with specific examples and
theory
 Read pg 105 and answer questions 1-5
on pg 106

Experience of
community
Sense of community
 Involves a feeling that members
belong, are connected to each other
and believe that their needs will be met
through their participation in the group

Ways in which a sense of
community can be built

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Participating in festivals celebrating the
community
Working towards a common goal or purpose
(wining a sporting premiership or raising
funds for charity)
Promoting the community among its
members
Attending social nights or organised activities
Maintaining or
Weakening?
The rebuilding of Kinglake after the
fires has simultaneously maintained and
weakened a sense of community
 Changes to clearway times has brought
Stonnington Council traders together as
a community to “fight” the State
Government

Sense of community can also
be instilled in individuals by..
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Family – determines which communities a
person will interact with and how often this
occurs
Ethnic origin – provides a person with
friendship links and cultural connections to
communities while also exposing people to
racism and prejudice that may make
individuals stick with ‘people like us’
Work – determines a persons status and
power within a community
Inclusion and
Exclusion
INCLUSION
EXCLUSION
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-
How community members made to
feel part of the group
- Participation in community activities is
often responsible for this connection
Involves:
- Being made to feel welcome – sense
of belonging
- Generates a feeling of being part of
something
- Provides individuals with security,
identity, support and access to skills
and information possessed by the
community
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-
-
How people can be isolated from the
community
Can be unintentional (not being able
to join a swimming team if you cant
swim) or intentional (neo Nazi
movement excluding people who are
not of an Anglo Saxon background)
Causes individuals to feel isolated and
alienated from a community (ies)
Helps define a community by
identifying who is not included
Can result in individuals feeling angry,
resentful, frustrated and powerless
Can lead to conflict or violence
between different community groups
Relationship between inclusion
and exclusion
Concepts are interrelated
 Often actions that make one person feel
apart of a community can be the same
factor that excludes someone else
 Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) describes
the interrelationship as being like “two
sides of the same coin”

EXAMPLE OF inclusion and
exclusion


A Greek social club has a strong sense of community
because its members have their ethnicity in common
This club is not deliberately seeking to exclude non
Greek people but has unintentionally done so. If a
non Greek person were to join, while it would
eliminate the feeling of exclusion for that person, it
would likely remove the strong sense of community
the Greek members feel because the new member
may not understand their culture and experiences in
the same way
How can a sense of
community be weakened?
Political factors – change in government
policy, such as the closure of a school in
a small country town
 Economic factors – loss of financial
support/funding (rural football and
cricket clubs needing to merge instead
of closing)
 Social factors – sexism, racism, ageism


..\Documents\Sociology\sociology
3&4\Unit 4\AOS 3- Community\Exclude
women at your own peril.docx
Read pg 106 and answer questions 1-5
 Complete activity 4.04 pg 109

Information and
communications technology
What is ICT?
- Networking (mobile phones towers,
broadband, satellites)
- Hardware (computers, laptop, iphone)
- Software (web browsers, email)
- The internet
- The people who work with these
technologies
What are the positive and negative consequences
for Australian communities as a result of the
development of
ICT..\Documents\Sociology\sociology 3&4\Unit
4\AOS 3- Community\Positive and negative
consequences of ICT on community pg 110.docx
complete Activity 4.05 pg 112
** Find current articles on internet
communities
Effects of economic, social,
political and environmental
changes

The impact of change from various
institutions and the environment can
range from a minor inconvenience to
the complete destruction of a
community
When considering the impact of change
it is important to be able to describe
what the experience of community was
like ‘before’ and ‘after’ the change
 The following categories of change
have had a significant impact on the
structure and experience of community
over time

Economic change
Gain or loss of funding
 Decrease or increase in membership
fees
 Increase in rent, licensing fees or other
costs
 Need for sponsorship and fundraising
 Loss of industry and unemployment

Social change
Changing social attitudes
 Changing gender roles
 Social trends and fashions
 Popular opinion
 Attitudes of people inside and outside a
community

Political change
Changing government policy
 Laws and legislation (eg antidiscrimination laws), government grants
 Council bylaws and restrictions (eg
building permits
 Removal of services

Environmental
changes


Sustainability – ensuring there are adequate
resources for future community groups to use
(eg water for ovals, private and public space
for sporting activities)
Climate change (shifting weather patterns
have had significant impact on many
communities esp. rural communities who
have been subjected to floods, draughts and
fires.